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Grim Tales: Action Points and secret skill checks
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<blockquote data-quote="Rodrigo Istalindir" data-source="post: 2331412" data-attributes="member: 2810"><p>Case 1 - the player knows he is using a skill, so he has to declare whether or not he's using an action point. He makes his disgiuse (or sneak or whatever) roll and immediately states he is using an action point. Opposed rolls will be against that modified roll. It's insurance. </p><p></p><p>Case 2 - no action points can be used unless the player specifically states that he will do so, and the event triggering the roll is both forseeable by the character and discreet in nature. Saying 'I use action points on my Listen check while standing an 8 hour watch' isn't kosher. Saying 'I ask the bishop if he knows about the missing children and use an action point on my Sense Motive' is ok.</p><p></p><p>Using action points has to be a conscious decision on the part of the player in response to a specific situation. Otherwise, you'll get too many arguments about whether or not he'd have used one in such and such a circumstance. (Or, alternatively, that he'd never have used one and wants it back).</p><p></p><p>The spirit of the action point is that the character doesn't know the outcome. While the player can intuit through metagaming such things as to-hit rolls, there is no reasonable way a character will know how sneaky he is, whether or not the fake eyebrow is askew, etc. The exception is the case of critical failures, and only then if the GM awards an action point, rendering the question of whether the character will use one moot.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rodrigo Istalindir, post: 2331412, member: 2810"] Case 1 - the player knows he is using a skill, so he has to declare whether or not he's using an action point. He makes his disgiuse (or sneak or whatever) roll and immediately states he is using an action point. Opposed rolls will be against that modified roll. It's insurance. Case 2 - no action points can be used unless the player specifically states that he will do so, and the event triggering the roll is both forseeable by the character and discreet in nature. Saying 'I use action points on my Listen check while standing an 8 hour watch' isn't kosher. Saying 'I ask the bishop if he knows about the missing children and use an action point on my Sense Motive' is ok. Using action points has to be a conscious decision on the part of the player in response to a specific situation. Otherwise, you'll get too many arguments about whether or not he'd have used one in such and such a circumstance. (Or, alternatively, that he'd never have used one and wants it back). The spirit of the action point is that the character doesn't know the outcome. While the player can intuit through metagaming such things as to-hit rolls, there is no reasonable way a character will know how sneaky he is, whether or not the fake eyebrow is askew, etc. The exception is the case of critical failures, and only then if the GM awards an action point, rendering the question of whether the character will use one moot. [/QUOTE]
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